Romantic Attraction & Cultural Diversity: An Exploration - Essay Sample

Introduction

Attraction and romance are a subject that is varied according to different cultures around the contemporary world. Various cultures have differing opinions on what is attractive, although some share the same perspective about attraction. In light of this, there include cultural diversity and cultural universals regarding physical attraction, which often leads to romantic relationships between any involved parties. Cultural diversity involves the aspect of cultural practices that makes a certain community distinct from others, while cultural universals involve the common cultural practices that are typical in all cultures worldwide (Heine, 2015). This paper, however, aims at discussing the cultural diversities and universals of the Paduang people of Thailand, based on attraction and romance.

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Cultural Diversities of the Paduang People

As mentioned earlier, different communities' practice different body transformation methods, which they consider attractive to their gender counterparts. The Paduang is no exception to this, and their women practice distinctive body modification methods to make them look more attractive to their men. The latter are reported to view women with long necks beautiful, and as such, the Paduang women have been known for their long necks which they usually achieve by wearing brass rings along their necks (Smith, 2010). Since the birth of a young girl, the rings are inserted, and when she grows, more brass rings are added according to her body weight. As such, the weight that the brass rings impose on the shoulders of the girl appears to have a nock longevity effect, which men usually find very attractive from the region. This is a common physical attraction practice that the girls in Thailand use to ensure they get into a romantic relationship. Figure 1 shows a typical Paduang woman.

Figure 1. Typical Paduang woman from Epicure and Culture (2018).

The other distinctive feature of romance and attraction of the Paduang people of Thailand is the process of boy-girl socializing. Aside from socializing in school and Buddhist festivities, Paduang girls and boys are known for their socializing on the scene of funerals (Foote, 2018). The latter has been associated with terror and trauma as the bereaved are usually in a state of mourning. However, the Paduang girls and boys use this platform as their socializing scene, which has made it very distinctive from other cultures. After socializing, love letters are usually exchanged which is followed by playing a game, if the attraction between the two parties involved is fervent (Heine, 2015). The game involves a series of poetic questions that are asked by the boy, and then a girl answers. The answers the girls provide should rhyme which further intensifies the connection between the involved parties. Marriage is the next prospect after attraction and romance, which further disintegrates the Paduang culture from others. Sex should not be engaged by the marrying parties before marriage, and if it happens, apology must be sought from the village elders and a fine deemed right by the elders paid. In the marriage ceremony, food and fermented liquor is payable by the bride's groom's side but served by both the maiden and bridegrooms' sides. An example of a marriage ritual is present in provided link in the references section.

Cultural Universals of the Paduang People

Despite the differences that the Paduang People portray regarding attraction and romance, various similarities are observed in the establishment of romantic relationships. For instance, complexion is a variable that all communities, including the Paduang people, find attractive. People, especially men, are always in search of females that have skin, which lacks bruises and blemish (Smith, 2010). This is because men look for healthy females who might be able to provide them healthy and good looking offsprings. The latter can be used in describing why the cosmetics industry has become a multi-billion-dollar organization. People are always looking to cover up their insecurities to be attractive to their male counterparts, to spark off romantic relationships. The selecting of complexion is rather considered as an unconscious process that occurs in the brain of a person looking for a partner to be involved in a romantic relationship.

Bilateral symmetry is the second universally accepted attractive feature even by the Paduang people. According to evolutionary biologists, people are always attracted to people whose left sides of the body and faces concur with the right sides of their bodies and faces, respectively (Heine, 2015). This is because people believe that development stability is portrayed through bilateral symmetry. In ideal conditions, a person should be born in bilateral symmetry. However, biologists argue that this might be difficult to obtain due to womb stresses, mutations, genetic variations, among other factors that come into play. Therefore, asymmetrical people are considered less attractive, which is a common feature in all cultures worldwide. The less asymmetrical a person, the more attractive they are considered.

The other universally accepted attraction criteria can be described by the propinquity effect (Mon, 2008). The Paduang people, as well as other cultures around the world, agree on the fact that for attraction to be created between two people, interaction must be present. The basis of any friendship is frequent interactions, and therefore since attraction and romance are sparked off by friendships, in many cases, interactions seem very vital. From the Paduang people, before marriage is officiated, it is the duty of the village elders to confirm that the people are entering the marriage on free will, which is obtained through interactions. Similarly, a majority of cultures allow for choice one partner through interactions and creation of friendships by the people they meet every day. No one should, however, be forced into a relationship without their consent. Everybody should be given a chance to choose their happiness, in accordance to the propinquity effect.

Lastly, averageness is the other crucial feature in which a majority of cultures tend to look like the basic foundation for attraction. Average in this context is used to mean that people are usually attracted to people with facial features that are determined to be of average configuration and size (Heine, 2015). Biologists have concluded that men are interested in youthful features in the ladies while women will always look for masculine features in a man before they are attracted to them. This is prevalent in the Paduang community, as well as other communities, which makes it a universally accepted attraction criterion in the contemporary world. People with average facial configurations are considered less asymmetrical, and hence attractive, as discussed earlier.

Conclusion

Cultures vary in some aspects as much as they agree on the idea of attraction and romance. Body modification methods have been developed all around the globe to ensure that beauty is achieved, which fosters for attraction that eventually leads to marriage. The Paduang community is one distinctive community where women wear rings around the neck to strengthen it and make them attractive to the males in their community. However, several features are deemed attractive by a majority of cultures around the world as seen in our discussion. These features include averageness, bilateral symmetry, complexion, and interaction.

References

Foote, K. (2018, December). Ethical Travel: Should You Visit Thailand's Long Neck Women Villages? Retrieved from Epicure and Culture: https://epicureandculture.com/thailand-long-neck-women/

Heine, S. J. (2015). Cultural Psychology (Third Edition). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

Karen Wedding in Omkoi Chiang Mai Thailand. (2015, January). Retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLDefuhwrak&t=73s

Mon, L. L. (2008). The Traditional Marriage Custom of Kayan(Padaung) People. MAAS Research Journal, 27.

Smith, D. (2010, October). Karens. Retrieved from Every Culture: https://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Karens.html